winter warning. millions of people in the northeast begin to prepare for a potential blizzard that could dump as much as two feet of snow in some areas. the confirmation hearing is today for the man appointed to lead the cia, and lawmakers prepare to ask pointed questions about john brennan's involvement in the agency's clandestine drone program. and weight war. new jersey governor chris christie blasts the doctor who publicly criticized his health habits. >> listen. this is just another hack who wants five minutes on tv. this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, february 7th, 2013. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. this morning the northeast is bracing for a major winter storm

that could deliver up to 2 feet of snow in some areas. blizzard watch has been posted for parts of massachusetts, rhode island, including eastern new england is prepared to get hit the hardest. the brunt of the storm is expected friday night into saturday. david bernard of our miami station wfor has more. >> it looks like we're heading for a major winter storm for ufl the northeast and it could even mean blizzard conditions for some of the areas. i want to show you the forecast map. this will be friday afternoon. upstate new york right along the coast of the low and it would include snow mixed with rain and would include the jersey shore and long island and maybe connecticut. and friday to saturday it could turn to all snow and by saturday we're likely going to be

experiencing blizzard conditions in some of these arias. how much snow could fall? this is just an early estimate but would could be measuring snow in feet. there's still a potential of a six to ten-inch snowfall. as we go throughout the day, we're going to have a much better idea. i'm david ber narksd cbs news, miami. well, some of the most controversial aspects of america's war on al qaeda could be aired in public when he has his confirmation hearing. john brennan will be asked questions about interrogation strikes. the white house is expected to stay ahead of that controversy. last night the administration acknowledged it would give congressional committee members access to classified documents that outline their stance on drone attacks against sus

spigoted terrorists who are also american. the reports will be in the hands of those lawmakers just hours before john brennan's confirmation hearing begins, and he will be the one today who's answering questions about the legality of killing americans who are believed to be senior al qaeda leaders such as the american-bern cleric anwar al awlaki who was killed in a 2010 drone strike. critics say the drone strikes violate the law. >> we have something that even president bush didn't do which is to order the killing of a united states citizen without clear evidence of an immediate attack. >> on wednesday the white house defended the program. >> the methods that we use are designed specifically to avoid civilian casualties. i think it's fair to say that far fewer civilians lose their lives in an effort to go after senior leadership in al qaeda. >> brennan is likely to face tough questions from members of

the president's own party. democrat ron wind of oregon is one of the senators who pressed the white house to talk about its leagueness. he was threatening to delay brennan's confirmation process and wants to know about his role in the drone program. despite the pushback john brennan is expected to be confirmed as head of the cia. in 2009 he took his name out of consideration for the post after questions were raised about his views on enhanced interrogation techniques. this time brennan has already told lawmakers that while at the agency he raised objections about the policies privately. meanwhile secretary of defense leon panetta testifies on capitol hill today about the attacks on the compound in libya. this follows his dire warnings about dramatic budget cuts due to kick in next month. panetta spelled out a list of

cuts the pentagon will have to make, cuts he says will seriously undermine the military. susan mcginnis is in washington this morning. susan, good morning. >> good morning, anne-marie. the cuts are already happening. the pentagon is shrinking its presence in the persian gulf of aircraft carriers. it's par of that long list that secretary panetta that said these cuts are going to have to happen in the coming weeks all because congress cannot agree on an alternative to the budget cuts that are going to kick in as well as a 2013 budget. the "uss truman" was expected to pull out of norfolk tomorrow to head to the persian gulf but wednesday afternoon word came in the truman will stay in port to save money. >> playing the waiting game. it's not very nice not knowing when we're pulling out. >> the pentagon is carrying u.s. presence overseas ahead of $55 billion budget cuts that kick in march 1st.

>> this is not a game. >> outgoing defense secretary leon panetta says congress's avoidance of finding cuts is seriously damage america. >> they would degrade our ability to respond to crises precisely at a time of rising instability across the globe. >> the idea behind sequestration was that the budget cuts would be so objectionable here on capitol hill that congress would agree on an alternative. that's proven to be easier said than done i fought to not have the sequester in the first place, but the president didn't want to have to deal with the debt limit again before his re-election. >> they passed budgets that are wholly objectionable to most americans. they didn't become law because of that, because they don't have the support of the american people. >> if washington can't agree on a plan, some economists say up to 1 million people could lose their jobs.

now here on capitol hill, senate democrats are said to be close to legislation that would temporarily forestall these automatic cuts. it would involve tax increases by enclosing tax loopholes and spending cuts. republicans are apparently planning to reoffer legislation in the past that would cut the federal work force. anne-marie? >> susan mcginnis in washington, thank you. well, the senate armed services committee has postponed a vote on chuck hagel, president obama's choice to replace pea any ta. the committee wants more information about hagel's finances. and news that the postal service is cutting back mail delivery to five days a week is not sitting well in rural areas of the country or with letter carriers but the post master carrier said it's a choice the service had to make. danielle nottingham reports. >> reporter: no more mail on saturdays. to save money, the u.s. postal service is ending saturday

first-class mail delivery beginning in august. many customers saw this day coming. >> i think it's probably long overdue because they've been having so many budget issues. >> i've been doing everything online for a really long time so i don't think it's necessarily going impact my world. >> reporter: over the past six years the postal service lost $41 billion despite laying off 35% of its work force. >> it would be irresponsible for the postal service not to pursue this course. we are in a situation where we are obligated to make some tough choices and decisions. >> local post offices with saturday hours oochz will still be open and they'll continue to deliver express and priority mail as well as pack objeages o saturday. congress usually approves any big changes at the post office but the independent agency found

a way to sidestep lawmakers and most americans believe it is the right move. polls show nearly seven in ten people support the switch to five-day delivery service if it cuts costs. danielle nottingham, c bbs news washington. on the "cbs moneywatch," why netflix could come out ahead despite those postal cuts, and a major bank pays up in a rate-fixing scandal. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. good morning, ashley. >> and good morning to you, anne-marie. asian markets retreated from yesterday's highs ahead of the meeting by european bank. on wall street, fourth quarter earnings reports did not impress investors, the dow gained just over 7 points to close at 13,986. the nasdaq dropped 3 points. a third bank has been hit with a huge fine for manipulating global interest rates. the royal bank of scotland has agreed to pay $610 million, and

the bankers will pay it back because the royal bank was bailed out by british taxpayers in 2008. this is the third international fwienk be fined in the so-called libellous scandal. chairman deborah her. man says the board is still weeks away from determining a cause. the dreamliner is still grounded but the faa gave boeing permission to relocate a single plane from texas to washington state. and the loss of saturday's mail could be netflix's gain. the plan to deliver mail over five days a week could save netflix as much as $100 million on postal fees. investors like the news and sent netflix's stock up 6%. there's some positive on that. >> silver lining for someone. ashley morrison here in new york. thank you. well, coming up on the

morning new, alzheimer's disease expected to reach high levels and later new jersey governor chris christie fighting back on the sensitive issue over his health. this is the "cbs morning news." >> announcer: "moneywatch" sponsored by advantavagisil. count on it. [ female announcer ] imagine skin so healthy, it never gets dry again.

can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno.

a tragic loss for a san francisco 49s just hours after the super bowl. delaney walker's aunt and uncle were driving back and were stopped outside of new orleans when a car slammed into them. both vehicles burst into flames. officials say it took until wednesday to identify the

bodies. 26-year-old nicole thomas has been charmed with dui and vehicular homicide. she escaped with minor injuries. caring for patients with apz disease costs about $200 billion a year but experts say that could jump to $1 trillion over the next few decades. vinita nair spoke with someone who is helping her father deal with this crippling disease. >> reporter: amy lee takes care of her father benny who was diagnosed with alzheimer's three and a half years ago. >> when he was first diagnosed he would say what's happening to me, i don't remember anything or something's wrong. but now he's past that phase because his language skills are no longer as strong. >> reporter: more and more americans are finding themselves in amy's position. >> there's a lot of frustration. it's overwhelming. >> reporter: a new study predicts the number of seniors with the memory-robbing disease is going to skyrocket from about 5 million today to about 13.8 million in 2015. >> the baby boomer generation is entering into retirement years and as they age we know the number of alzheimer's disease will continue dramatically.

as the number of patients go up, so does the burden on society and families. researchers don't know what causes alzheimer's, and there's no cure. >> right now we're not prepared as a country to deal with this crisis. >> yeah, who's that? >> reporter: amy's dad will turn 90 this summer. she knows his faculties will only continue to decline. >> i think there will be a point where he's not going to be able to live at home anymore, so that's going to be a big sad step. >> reporter: her goal is to make sure he has as much dignity as possible as he enters the last stage of his life. vinita nair, cbs news, new york. the boy scouts of america. now a decision isn't expected until may. the executive board put off the vote due to what it calls the complexity of the issue. now straight ahead your thursday morning weather, and in sports an awful start by one of college

basketball's best teams fuels a texas-sized celebration. sports college basketball's best teams fuels a texas-sized celebration. i gave birth to my daughter on may 18th, five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story. it wasn't their cup. if you don't like that dark roast, we've created a coffee for you. blonde is a beautiful, light roasted coffee. kind of mellow, sweet, a little citrusy. for me, personally, i love connecting with people, so blonde roast just gives me a whole nother reason to connect with more customers. ♪

i work for 47 different companies. well, technically i work for one. vinita nair, cbs news, new york. fuels a texas-sized celebration. postal service®, s works for thousands of home businesses. because at usps.com®, you can pay, print and have your packages picked up for free. i can even drop off free boxes. i wear a lot of hats. well, technically i wear one. the u.s. postal service®, no business too small. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. new york, the high of 33. miami turning cloudy with 82 the high. chicago, ice and rain, a chilly 38. dallas, showers, 74. los angeles, 64. and time now for a check of the national forecast. the calm before the storm in the

northeast. it will be dry and chilly with temperatures in the single digits in parts of northern new england. expect a wintry mix of rain and snow in iowa. and in ohio, rain, some of it heavy will roll across parts of the south, and a major storm moves into the pacific northwest. in sports now, lance armstrong will be sued for millions of dollars today. sca promotions is seeking to recover $12 million it paid to armstrong for winning the tour de france. the company wants the money back in light of the cyclist's admission to doping during those races. in the nba, the hot-shooting rockets take on the heat. he takes dwyane wade's hard pocket for the uncontested slam. the heat pull away late to win, 114-108. in the college ranges now, number 5 kansas struggles on the road against texas christian. the jayhawks scored 13 points in the second half.

they can't recover from the slow first half and they lose. it's the first big win for texas. a rough night for carey price. he takes a shot right between the these. things didn't get much better for him. he gives up two third period goals to boston and a little more than two minutes and the bruins win, 2-1. when we return now, weighing his political future. new jersey governor chris christie has choice words for a former white house doctor who offered a dire prediction. ♪

the freshenator. the buddy system. the do si go. the two-handed tango. el cleaño. [ female announcer ] nothing leaves you feeling cleaner and fresher than the cottonelle care routine. try it. then name it. ♪ so beautiful [ female announcer ] optimal solutions complete protein and vitamin shake mix, part of our new line of products for women, created by women. optimal solutions, at drug stores everywhere.

here's look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., mostly cloudy, 42. atlanta and st. louis can expect rain. denver, sunshine, a high of 50. and seattle, rain, 48 the high.

well, new jersey governor chris christie is firing back at comments about his weight. former white house doctor connie more ya know said on "cbs this morning" yesterday said she's worried christie could have a heart attack. christi hid back and said it was completely irresponsible to make a diagnosis of him. i'll have a conversation about her with that. until that time she should shut up. >> a debate with christie's weight began when he appeared monday on david letterman and jokingly ate a doughnut. the number one reason, traffic. some of the more outrageous excuses finch for being late include an employee dropped her purse into the newspaper box. another delivered a stranger's baby on the side of the road.

one put a raincoat on a duck. too bad they don't give raises for creativity. this is the "morning news." [ male announcer ] if you can clear a crowd but not your nasal congestion, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec-d®. powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter.

. good morning. welcome to wusa9. today is thursday, friday eve, february 7. i'm andrea roane. i'm mike hydeck.

good morning, monika samtani. how are you? you look terrific this morning. >> oh, wow. thank you. >> mr. howard bernstein is going to talk a little weather. a quiet day. more clouds than yesterday so not as pretty. we got to 49. today we'll barely get above 40 and tomorrow a cold rain and an epic snowstorm bearing down on the northeast of new england. we've got the clouds thickening up. we may see a peek or two of sunshine during the morning hours with temperatures slow to climb out of the 20s and 30s. only to about 40, 41 here. even by 5:00, we may see an isolated spring sprinkle or two. better chance of steadier rains developing tonight into the overnight. that might even mix with a little bit of sleet or snow at the onset, especially west of town toward the shenandoah valley. we already have some clouds moving in and lots of moisture toward the gulf coast. that is the origin of the storm that's going to pound areas of new york state and new england

with potentially a couple of feet of snow here by later friday into saturday. temperatures this morning, it's cold. 23 frederick, westminster. it's 28 in leesburg. to the south mid-20s in la plata. 26 tappahannock and newland this morning. easton at 26. your highs this afternoon with the cloud cover range from around 36 in hagerstown. 38 winchester. we'll barely squeak up to 41 here in d.c. monika samtani, thursday morning, it's early, timesaver traffic. it's early but we do have construction on the beltway right now. if you're planning to head on the northbound side of the inner loop, the inner loop heading for river road toward the 270 spur, watch out for that construction. it's blocking off the three right lanes. we'll take a live look near the spur. it's not affecting you if you're coming down the spur toward the beltway. it's the inner loop of the beltway northbound 95 that you want to be aware. you need to scoot over to the left to get by. this time over to virginia coming in on 66 on the dulles

toll road, you're fine. one last look on the northbound side of i-95 and 395 where you're going to find the lanes open heading from newington toward landmark. back to you. >> thank you, monika. we're now just three weeks away from what could be yet another fiscal crisis created by lawmakers on capitol hill. that's when automatic across- the-board budget cuts go into effect unless congress finds another way. >> the buzz term you keep hearing is governing by crisis. that's what a lot of people are talking about. the budget cuts are called sequestration and could have a huge effect on defense. gary nurenberg has more. >> this is not a game. this is reality. >> reporter: an angry defense secretary wednesday on the consequences of those automatic cuts to american defense. >> they would degrade our ability to respond to crisis precisely at a time of rising

instability across the globe. >> reporter: "u.s.a. today" obtained documents spelling out some of the cuts. >> they say that readiness is affected because they can't train and they can't sail ships as often. >> reporter: the pentagon announced wednesday afternoon the 5,000 crew members on the u.s.s. truman will be staying in norfolk and not deploying to the persian gulf. saving? >> in the hundreds of millions of dollars. >> reporter: panetta said? >> we'll be able to take our responsibilities in afghanistan but if something else came up, say in syria or mali or libya, it wouldn't necessarily be an ought mat ig thing that we'd be -- automatic thing that we'd be able to send troops or equipment. >> reporter: no money for military air shows like we see at andrews, no flyovers at sporting events like the super bowl or nats park. and for the troops themselves, david martin of cbs. >> troops in the field would take a hit in the pocket, a planned